Reviewer: Mathan “Chum†Erhardt
Story Title: American Tidal
Written by: Will Pfeifer
Penciled by: Patrick Gleason
Inked by: Christian Alamy
Colored by: Nathan Eyring
Lettered by: Jared K Fletcher
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Publisher: DC Comics
Hey, my name is Mathan Erhardt. I am fan of Aquaman. I was also disappointed with the first, oh, twelve issue of this title. I once claimed that Aquaman was such a horrible book, that it was in fact the industry’s best book because it made every other title on the market look a million times better. I loathed this title, but I never dropped it. I never dropped it because I was waiting for this issue. Was it worth the wait? You’ll find out, later.
The issue begins with a pretty chilling image, a dead panda, underwater. In reality things are much worse than a just a dead animal. Everything in San Diego west of the Zoo has fallen into the ocean, the result of some unknown disaster. The casualties are estimated at four hundred thousand. We see Aquaman looking for survivors, and only finding bodies. He reluctantly tells the rescue workers to call off looking for survivors. The President (not the one you think) visits the site to assuage fears.
Some time passes. A boy wearing a San Diego Zoo t-shirt is found, near death, on the “beach†where San Diego used to be. The paramedics try to revive him, but he doesn’t respond to their attempts and dies. The coroner has to perform an autopsy to find out what went wrong. He also calls in Aquaman to oversee the procedure. Their autopsy reveals information that raises more questions. The answers to these questions seem to lie directly in Aquaman’s field of expertise.
Pfeifer knows how to write an engaging story. This issue grabs you from page one. While I could have done without the President’s speech (just like in real life) the rest of the issue creates a mystery worth solving. When was the last time Aquaman had to solve a mystery? The title has been called CSI Aquaman, with good reason; the coroner scene has that CSI feel to it. And that last page is like an act break, only one that lasts 30 days not two and a half minutes. The worst thing about this issue; Superman/Batman #6 was late, which could confuse some readers.
Gleason and Alamy have a great look together. The spread on pages 2 &3 is haunting. Actually the aftermath of the disaster is pretty haunting as a whole. The pain expressed on Aquaman’s face perfectly captures what I’d imagine anyone would look like. And that autopsy is pretty gruesome. The book looks really good, I think that is matches the feel of the book pretty well.
